Back during the 90s era of the NBA, one of the most fierce and big rivalries in the league was between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. The Knicks, coached by the legendary Pat Riley at the time, were known for playing a physical style of basketball. So much so, that former Pacers big man Antonio Davis admitted that he was not ready for that type of play.

During a recent episode of ‘Legends Lounge,’ Antonio Davis acknowledged that he wasn’t quite prepared for the physical style of basketball that the Knicks brought to their rivalry with the Pacers.

“The first time we played the Knicks, it was brutal,” Davis recalled. “It was brutal, bro. I wasn’t ready for that. The mental, the physical, I had heard about it, everybody talks about Pacers, Knicks rivalry, but you’re not ready for that until you get in it and you play.”

From 1993-2000, the Pacers and Knicks met in the playoffs six times with players like Reggie Miller and Patrick Ewing at the forefront. Probably the most famous of those meetings was the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals when Miller shockingly scored eight points in the final 18 seconds to steal a win for the Pacers.

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The Pacers and Knicks rivalry sort of began in 1993 during the opening round of the playoffs. The Knicks would win that series in four games. The following year was when the Pacers would add Davis. They originally selected him with the No. 45 overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, but he did not join the team until the 1993-94 season.

Davis was present for four of those six playoff series’ during his time with the Pacers. He played for the Pacers from 1993-1999. Davis was traded to the Toronto Raptors ahead of the 1999-2000 season. He would then play just about four and a half seasons with the Raptors before being traded to the Chicago Bulls.

Davis would ultimately join the enemy after the Bulls traded him to the Knicks for the 2005-06 season. The Knicks traded him to the Raptors that same season, and he would end his NBA career after suffering a season-ending back injury, His longest stint with a team in the NBA was the six seasons he played for the Pacers.